Our View: Trash spoils autumn splendor

October 10, 2013

Ahh ... The crisp air of fall. The sting of that first frosty breath on the way out to the car. The crunch of a sweet apple plucked from your tree. No matter how you feel about this gradual slide into winter, there’s really no way to avoid finding something to like about autumn in Northern Michigan.

Even so, there are people out there who are trying to spoil the season for the rest of us, and this becomes obvious as more of us take to the woods for walks or hunting outings.

We’re talking about trash piles and there are plenty to be found around Otsego County and neighboring areas.

Despite annual, tax-funded city and township trash pickups across the county, mounds of garbage still litter public land. Between beautiful fall colors and the occasional critter, expect to see rotten furniture, mattresses, construction debris, paint and oil cans, tires, car batteries, dirty diapers and junk food containers strewn throughout our state forests.

Aren’t they just lovely?

To top it off, poachers frequently dispose of salmon and deer carcasses in these same areas after stripping the fish of their eggs or the deer of their prized “backstrap” loins. You might not see the rotting corpse, but your dog certainly will and he or she will most likely roll in it.

Ahh ... Now doesn’t that smell nice?

We have touched on this subject before, but it’s still a sore one with us and it just won’t go away. So we want this to be a reminder that, should you come across an illegal dump site or suspected poaching matter, report it. Call the Department of Natural Resources’ Report All Poaching (RAP) hotline, 800-292-7800. There may even be a reward in it for you and, more importantly, consequences for those responsible.